Leg cramp pills

Convulsive spasms of the muscles - most often the calf, occur under the influence of various causes and factors, from a violation of the water-electrolyte balance to serious vascular pathologies. Since there are many causes of discomfort, there cannot be any one universal pill for leg cramps. Medications are different, they are selected by the doctor, taking into account the diagnosis. In general, it is not difficult to eliminate convulsions as a symptom: it is important to influence the initial provoking factor.

Indications Leg cramp pills

Pills for leg cramps can be aimed at getting rid of a specific disease, or have a purely symptomatic effect. Everything is individual, and most often treatment should involve the impact on such diseases and conditions:

• disorders of the thyroid function (in particular, convulsions often occur against the background of hypothyroidism, thyroiditis);
• diabetes;
• pathologies for the treatment of which hormone therapy is used (for example, taking glucocorticoid drugs);
• beriberi, hypovitaminosis, disorders of mineral and water-electrolyte metabolism;
• chronic insufficient kidney function, chronic vascular pathologies (varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, atherosclerosis, etc.).

The list of indications for which pills are prescribed for cramps in the legs and arms is quite extensive. And only the right impact on the underlying underlying pathology can completely save the patient from regular muscle twitches and spasms.

Release form

This form of release, like tablets, is convenient enough to be used for leg cramps. The tablet is convenient to take with you on the road or to work, it is easy to dose and take. Less convenient in this regard are capsules and dragees, as well as enteric-coated tablets: it is difficult to dose such medicines, since they cannot be divided or crushed.

Tablets for leg cramps can be different, differing from each other in size, weight, shape, density, composition. Belonging to one or another group of drugs determines their mechanism of action and other pharmacological characteristics.

Names of pills for seizures

As we have said, there is no one universal remedy for any seizures. Depending on the root cause, only a doctor will help you figure out which pills for leg cramps, names and indications for their appointment.

If a person goes to a pharmacy and simply asks for a cure for seizures, then the pharmacist will most likely advise you to see a doctor. The bottom line is that medications that are called anticonvulsants are actually prescribed not for ordinary leg cramps, but for very serious diseases - for example, with epilepsy. Anticonvulsants reduce the excitability in certain areas of the location of neurons in the brain. They are taken in cases of psychomotor and convulsive seizures. These drugs include Phenytoin, Carbamazepine, Primidone, Phenobarbital, Ethosuximide, Beklamid, Diazepam, etc. Such medicines are dispensed in the pharmacy network only with a prescription from a doctor, since they have an addictive effect and belong to the category of narcotic and steroid drugs.

If leg cramps are caused by such equally serious pathologies as neuropathies and neuralgia, then the doctor may prescribe one of the special anticonvulsant drugs. We are talking about such tablets as Finlepsin, Pregabalin, Carbamazepine, Tebantin, etc.

The above medications are prescribed only for the strictest indications and after a complete diagnostic check. It is strictly forbidden to take such funds on your own.

If leg cramps are the result of other, less formidable problems, then completely different pills are most often prescribed here:

• For varicose veins:
  • Troxevasin capsules;
  • Detralex tablets;
  • Troxerutin tablets;
  • Normoven tablets.
• Multivitamin-mineral complex means:
  • Calcium D ₃  Nycomed;
  • Complivit;
  • Vitrum calcium;
  • Alphabet.
• Drugs to compensate for the lack of magnesium and potassium in the tissues:
  • Magnicum;
  • Asparkam;
  • Magne-B ₆;
  • Panangin.

Which of the tablets to choose - neuroleptics, fibrinolytics, vitamin and mineral preparations or other drugs - the doctor decides on an individual basis, after the diagnosis and the final diagnosis.

Pharmacodynamics

The pharmaceutical properties of tablets for leg cramps can be considered on the example of one of the most popular drugs - Magne-B ₆. This remedy is a combination of magnesium and pyridoxine. Magnesium is an intracellular cation that reduces excitability processes in neurons and inhibits neuromuscular connections. In addition, the mineral is involved in the mass of various enzymatic reactions, is part of the skeletal bones. If the concentration of magnesium in plasma ranges from 12 to 17 mg / l, then they speak of magnesium deficiency, and lower values indicate severe deficiency of the mineral.

Magnesium deficiency can be:

• primary, associated with metabolic disorders;
• secondary, associated with malnutrition, improper absorption of the mineral, excessive removal of it from the tissues.

As a rule, the normalization of the mineral level in the body leads to the elimination of painful leg cramps.

Pharmacokinetics

If we consider the kinetic properties of magnesium preparations - a mineral, the lack of which most often causes leg cramps, then they are quite complex. When magnesium salts enter the digestive system, for their assimilation, first of all, a passive scheme is activated, according to which salt solubility becomes the determining factor.

The degree of absorption of magnesium salts in the digestive system does not exceed fifty percent. Excretion of minerals occurs mainly through the kidneys.

Dosing and administration

The dosage of certain pills for leg cramps should be determined by the doctor. However, the main groups of such medications are most often prescribed as follows:

• For varicose veins:
  • Troxevasin capsules are taken orally with food, one capsule in the morning and evening, for a long time - for a month;
  • Detralex tablets are taken 2 pieces per day, in the morning and in the evening, with food, for a long time;
  • Troxerutin tablets are taken 2 pieces per day for 3-4 weeks;
  • Normoven tablets are taken in the morning and evening, with food, for several weeks.
• Multivitamin-mineral complex means:
  • Calcium D ₃  Nycomed is chewed in the mouth, taking 1 tablet twice a day (preferably immediately after meals);
  • Complivit is taken 1 tablet per day for a month, with food;
  • Vitrum calcium is prescribed in the amount of 2 tablets per day, for a long time - for 1.5-2 months;
  • Alphabet classic is taken one tablet of different colors three times a day, for a month.
• Preparations to compensate for the lack of magnesium and potassium in the body:
  • Magnicum is taken regardless of the meal, with water, 2 tablets per day;
  • Asparkam should be taken after meals, 1-2 tablets three times a day;
  • Magne-B ₆  drink whole, without chewing, with a full glass of water, 6-8 tablets per day;
  • Panangin is recommended to use 1-2 tablets three times a day, after meals.

Application for children

Leg cramps in a child, unfortunately, can happen quite often. Children under the age of nine are especially vulnerable in this regard. There are many reasons for this symptom:

• high temperature - for example, with influenza, SARS, pneumonia, various childhood infectious diseases;
• reaction to vaccination
• intoxication and poisoning (fumes of solvents and paints, household chemicals, low-quality food, medicines, etc.);
• dehydration or blood loss (possibly with frequent loose stools or vomiting, insufficient fluid intake, external or internal bleeding);
• excessive excitement, tantrums - children with a highly emotional temperament also happen;
• epilepsy is more often a congenital pathology, a primary convulsive syndrome.

If the cramps in the legs of the baby occurred against the background of a viral infection and fever, then no specific pills are required. It is necessary to direct all efforts to lower the temperature, give the child plenty to drink, and follow the doctor's prescriptions.

If the water-electrolyte balance is disturbed, it is corrected, and in case of poisoning, appropriate detoxification measures are taken.

If the child is supposed to have epilepsy, then ordinary pills for seizures will not help here, since serious systemic treatment is required under the supervision of a neurologist. The dosage of medicines is determined by the doctor on an individual basis, since it is necessary to take into account the age, body weight of the child, the duration of the treatment course, the results of diagnostic procedures (in particular, EEG).

Use Leg cramp pills during pregnancy

If a pregnant woman has leg cramps, then the first thing she should do is inform her gynecologist about it. He will determine the cause of the problem and prescribe the appropriate tablets or other medications - for example, multivitamins, or calcium or magnesium-containing products.

Additional intake of any tablets should be agreed with the doctor, and treatment with calcium preparations must be completed before the 35th week of pregnancy.

It is unacceptable to “prescribe” any pills for leg cramps on your own!

If the seizures are related to fluctuations in blood glucose levels, then the doctor may prescribe medications that correct these indicators, as well as advise on a special diet.

In case of varicose veins, both tablets are prescribed to improve the condition of the vessels, as well as external ointments and gels. Both those and other drugs, as a rule, help to cope with leg cramps.

Contraindications

The most important contraindication to taking any pills for leg cramps is the absence of a prescription from a doctor. If the doctor did not prescribe drugs, then you should not self-medicate and "prescribe" them yourself. Seizures may not be a harmless symptom at all, and the chaotic and misuse of medications can seriously exacerbate the problem.

In addition, you cannot make your own adjustments to the treatment regimen prescribed by a medical specialist. The tablets should be taken regularly and exactly in the quantities recommended by the doctor.

Other contraindications may include:

• high sensitivity to any of the ingredients that make up the pills for seizures;
• severe renal or hepatic pathology;
• conditions of hypervitaminosis, excessive intake or impaired excretion of minerals;
• severe diarrhea, vomiting;
• intolerance to at least one ingredient that is part of the tablet.

To avoid additional health troubles, pills for leg cramps should be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account possible contraindications.

Side effects Leg cramp pills

What side effects are most often recorded while taking pills for leg cramps?

• Allergic reactions.
• Gastrointestinal disorders: diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, other digestive disorders.
• Hypersensitivity reactions from the skin: itching, rashes like urticaria.

If any such symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor: perhaps the tablets will be replaced by others with a similar effect, but with a different composition.

Overdose

An overdose of tablets for leg cramps is usually not accompanied by toxic reactions in patients, provided that the kidneys function normally. But in people suffering from insufficiency of renal function, the likelihood of developing intoxication increases.

The degree of toxic effect mainly depends on the level of one or another active component in the bloodstream. Most often, the problem manifests itself:

• changes in blood pressure;
• nausea and vomiting;
• depression of the central nervous system;
• disorder of reflex actions;
• pathological signs on the electrocardiogram;
• respiratory system disorders.

In severe cases, a coma develops, cardiac activity is disturbed, respiratory paralysis, anuria occurs.

Treatment of an overdose of pills for leg cramps most often includes rehydration, forced diuresis. With the development of renal failure, hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis is prescribed.

Interactions with other drugs

Tablets for leg cramps are different, with different compositions and mechanisms of action. Therefore, their drug compatibility is completely different: this point must be clarified by carefully reading the instructions for a particular drug before using it.

In general, it is desirable to avoid the simultaneous use of several medications at once, not to combine the intake of vitamin and mineral preparations with other drugs that can inhibit the absorption of active active substances.

Tablets for leg cramps are not taken simultaneously with diuretics and laxatives, as well as with enveloping antacids and antibiotics.

Storage conditions

Any medicines, including pills for leg cramps, are kept in the most inaccessible places for children, away from direct sunlight, heating devices. Medicines should be protected from moisture getting on them: dampness significantly shortens the shelf life of the tablets.

Medicines should not be taken if their packaging is damaged, so storage of medicines must be handled very carefully. Spoiled and damaged tablets can cause serious harm to human health.

Shelf life

Usually, the expiration date of specific pills for seizures is indicated on the carton or on the edge of the blister pack of the drug. You should always pay special attention to this date: if the permissible storage period has expired, then the drug must be thrown away, since it will no longer have the necessary therapeutic effect, and may even harm.

The average shelf life of most tablet medicines is about two or three years, but the length of this period must always be specified in relation to a particular drug.

Analogues

Alternative remedies can serve as an alternative to pills for leg cramps, as well as special exercises that relieve muscle spasms. For example, many patients are helped by this action:

• sit on the bed with your feet on the floor;
• pinch a little calf and foot, massage the affected area;
• get up, again do a light muscle massage;
• lie down and raise your legs at an angle of about 60'.

With frequent cramps, it is recommended to massage the legs daily at night using essential oils of laurel, fir, eucalyptus, and orange. Contrast baths, which tone the vessels, also help a lot.

With a lack of calcium in the body, it is necessary to make adjustments to the diet: add a variety of fermented milk products, sesame, honey.

Wetting the feet with lemon juice also helps. This procedure should be repeated every morning for 14 days.

An excellent remedy is medicinal chamomile. Take a tablespoon of flowers and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, leave for about 40 minutes. Take between meals throughout the day.

Experts say: you can forget about leg cramps if you eat 1-2 baked potatoes daily. Approximately the same effect has raisin water, for the preparation of which they take 2 tbsp. L. Washed raisins, pour a glass of boiling water, insist overnight, and in the morning they drink the resulting water and eat the berries.

Good analogues of pharmaceutical pills for seizures are herbs - for example, shepherd's purse, wheatgrass, yarrow, mint, goose cinquefoil, knotweed. These herbs are used externally, a decoction is prepared from 100 g of dry herbs (can be collected) and 200 ml of water. The resulting product is poured into a bucket of warm water, legs are lowered into it for about 20 minutes. Treatment should be continued every day for 10-12 days in a row. You can also moisten a bandage or gauze in a decoction and apply it as a compress to the affected area, holding it for at least 5 hours (it is optimal to fix the compress and leave it overnight). If the cramps still do not go away, then it is necessary to consult with a specialist.

Reviews

Vitamin-mineral complexes are the first and safest remedy, which usually begins the treatment of seizures. For example, these can be preparations with magnesium, calcium, vitamins B and D. According to reviews, such pills for leg cramps help to get rid of the problem of most patients, including women during pregnancy. It is no secret that very often nocturnal muscle cramps are associated with banal dehydration, a low-protein diet, and a lack of minerals and vitamins in the body. Therefore, many do not advise immediately to panic and rush "to extremes" in search of the cause of discomfort. It is better to visit a doctor: most likely, convulsions will be eliminated quite simply by using a complex multivitamin preparation and adjusting the food and drink regimen.

In addition to the fact that the patient will take pills for leg cramps, in most cases he will be advised to give up bad habits, drink enough water, avoid physical inactivity and excessive physical labor, and diversify his diet with protein and vegetable products.